FRANKFURT, Germany, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The German economy will hardly recover next year, the country's banks found in a new study.
The Association of German Banks, or BdB, in its report Thursday, predicted the economy would grow 1.3 percent in 2006. The BdB had earlier predicted a growth of 1.6 percent. Private investments will grow by .8 percent, the study found.
Exports remain the biggest German growth driver.
The export market will grow this year by 5.3 and in 2006 by 4.8 percent. The BdB warned the new German government not to steer away from its reform course, and called on Germany's powerful labor unions to hold back their claims as the job market will likely not improve significantly.
While Germany is experiencing low growth, the rest of the world isn't.
In 2005, the global economy grew by 5.1 percent and it will continue to do so in 2006, by more than 4 percent, the study said. The slightly lower growth rates will lead to a stabilization of the oil price at around $60 per barrel, the BdB said.
The German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday reported on the study.
